Entanglement devices
Entanglement devices are a form of defence used by competitors in Robot Wars, first legalised in Series 10 in response to the dominance of spinning weapons in Series 9, also making limited appearances in Extreme Warriors: Season 2 and earlier series of Robot Wars despite the devices being considered illegal. Entanglement devices come in various forms, including loose ropes, wires, cloth and chains, and are designed to immobilise spinning weapons, and protect the user from those weapon types. Definition An entanglement device is a sacrificial addition to a robot which is easily absorbed by spinning weapons, and can consist of forms such as rope and cloth. If the entanglement device is successful, it should cease the function of spinning weapons such as bar spinners and drums upon contact by jamming it, or absorbing blows. However, it cannot consist of low-tech devices such as a fishing net, cables or mesh. Legal entanglement devices cannot exceed 1m in length, nor can it attach the opponent to the competing robot. The entanglement device must be designed specifically to combat spinning weapons. Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages *Entanglement devices, when successful, directly counter the most successful and damaging weapon type in modern Robot Wars, spinners. *Devices such as rope and chains can be applied to a robot externally, making them easily to affix and replace. *Being an inactive addition to a robot, potentially made from soft material, entanglement devices do not contribute heavily to a robot's weight. *Most entanglement devices are inexpensive, and require little-to-no engineering to apply. *Entanglement devices are a new addition to robotic combat, and are not applied to robots in battles that do not involve spinners, adding a surprise factor to each device. Disadvantages *Entanglement devices designed to combat one form of spinner, such as a horizontal flywheel, may not work for different spinners such as a vertical disc. *The rules on entanglement devices are stringent, leading to the potential rejection of devices, or penalties for unapproved usage. Bulldog Breed was penalised in Series 7 for placing mesh underneath its flipper, which fell out during battle. *An entanglement device used by a robot with a spinner of its own risks jamming their own weapon. *Robots and weapons designed purely to entangle spinners, such as Skye, have little in the way of offensive output. *Certain entanglement devices, such as the hair of Milly-Ann Bug, are flammable. List of robots with entanglement devices Robots are listed alphabetically. Trivia *The polkadot fur of Nemesis and Diotoir was not designed for use as an entanglement device, but Diotoir's fur snagged and disabled the spinning drum of Tornado in Series 5. Killerkat and Bee-Capitator also donned fur in their respective series, but snagged no spinners. *The coil found in the centre of Mousetrap was also added only for aesthetic purposes, but briefly disabled the vertical spinner of S3 after its absorption. *Destruct-A-Bubble intended to use a "hairnet" as an entanglement device, but this was illegal at the time, and could not use the hairnet. Category:Weapon Types Category:Terminology